Hairshirt

About Hairshirt

1/1/2002

In a way, Motown seems an unlikely place for Hairshirt. Amidst the cult of Detroit Rock personality, they don’t align themselves with the MC5. In the thick of sophomoric licks, they shoot higher than three chords and a fuzz box. Hairshirt tends to take a delicate step back, and their sound straddles consciousness with eyes half-aware as it crosses the lines of post-rock and international pop -- in the band’s words: “Indie rock with strawberries and sauerkraut”.

Having grown out of low-end groove four-piece Ansonia, they seem to have found a perfect fit as a trio, leaving plenty of space for both their minimal aesthetic and experimental nature. Suffice to say, they uphold the real ethos of Detroit, one that’s unshakable in its independence and that breeds new ideas rather than rehashing the nostalgia of yore.